colt evil
English
Alternative forms
- colt's evil
Noun
colt evil (uncountable)
- (obsolete) A swelling in the genitals of horses; also (by extension), priapism.
- 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy, Oxford: Printed by Iohn Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 216894069; The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd corrected and augmented edition, Oxford: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, 1624, OCLC 54573970, partition III, section 2, member 2, subsection i:
- young folks most apt to love, and by their good wills, saith Lucian, ‘would have a bout with every one they see’: the colt's evil is common to all complexions.
- 1722, William Gibson, The Farrier's New Guide, 3rd edition, chapter XLV:
- The Colt-evil is a continued Stiffness in a Horse's Yard, and is so call'd, because it is a Disease incident to Colts, and is brought upon them by having full Liberty with Mares while they are not able to cover them […].
- 1838, R Bowers, A Modern and Practical Treatise on the Diseases of Horses:
- The Colt Evil chiefly affects young stoned colts, which have full liberty with mares before they are able to cover them.
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